Timing is Everything
by LanieSullivan
Summary: Filler scene for"Bad Timing" to answer the question of what Amanda was doing while Lee was in Billy's office.


Disclaimer: "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. I retain rights to the plot, but not the characters. This story is meant for enjoyment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

Author's Note: This is a filler story for "Bad Timing" taking place between the conversation with Dr. McJohn in Billy's office and Billy showing up in the Q Bureau later. I always wondered why Amanda wasn't in the office for that conversation with Dr. McJohn. This is my attempt at an explanation.

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Amanda sank wearily onto the couch in the Q Bureau, her mind a blur. Was it possible that it had only been an hour or so earlier that she'd been on cloud nine? She was finally going to have a real weekend alone with the man she loved, something they hadn't gotten to do a lot since they'd been engaged. She'd invited him for dinner, but had intended to invite him to stay for dessert as well since she had the house to herself for the whole weekend.

She shuddered as she thought of the horrible timing of it. They were supposed to be getting married in just a week. Now her fiancé' most likely would not make it to their wedding day. The thought was more than she could bear. She wrapped her arms around herself as the realization hit her full force, the sobs she'd been holding back gushing forth rivaling the flow of Niagara falls her entire body shaking uncontrollably. She felt as if she couldn't breathe, her hand travelling to her painfully tight chest. She started for a moment at feeling the hardness of her engagement ring in its normal place nestled between her breasts. Her tears still flowing, she reached for the long chain that held it there, pulling it over her head.

Amanda examined the delicate gold chain before unfastening the clasp, sliding the ring from it, dropping the chain into her lap. She held the ring between her forefinger and her thumb, much the way she had when she'd first discovered it sitting on her desk three months ago. Only this time she wasn't staring at it in wonder as she had then, marveling at the sparkling diamond and the promise it held for her future with Lee. Now that same shining diamond was mocking her with the thought that that promise for the future would never be fulfilled. How could this be happening when they had their whole lives in front of them? How could Lee's life be taken from him, from her, so easily?

As Amanda continued to stare dumbstruck at the ring that was supposed to be a symbol of his love for her, sinking further into her misery, she thought back to the events of the previous night. They'd had such an enjoyable evening together, a nice dinner, some intimate conversation, and Lee's exaggerated stories of his travels keeping her entertained. It was rare that they were allowed to have an uninterrupted evening together such as that one. It seemed something was always interfering. Lee had wanted to take full advantage of it, smiling that adorably sexy smile at her when he'd invited her back to his place for "dessert." She had so desperately wanted to take him up on his offer, but her logical mind had kept her from following her heart, using their early day at work as an excuse.

Amanda's sorrow soon became mixed with a healthy dollop of guilt. If she'd taken him up on his invitation, they'd have spent the night making love and he'd never have been jumped and injected with this deadly virus that now threatened to take him away from her. Why hadn't she gone home with him? Why had she had to be so practical? He'd already surrendered part of his closet and two drawers of his dresser to her so it wasn't as if she wouldn't have had clean clothes to wear the next day. She could have spent the night in his arms as she'd really wanted to and then they could have driven to work together the next day which would have made much more sense than her driving in from Arlington as he lived closer to the office that she did, so what had held her back?

She knew the answer without asking the question. It wasn't about their early workday. It was about her children waiting at home for her. She could have made up an excuse about having to pull an all-nighter at work, not that her mother would have believed it. She knew her mother was beyond believing all the tall tales that she told her these days, but her boys would have believed her just because they trusted her, believed that their mother would always tell them the truth. She shook her head in disbelief at all the lies she'd told them. That was the real reason she'd said no to Lee. She didn't want to lie to them yet again about her relationship with the man she loved. They'd met Lee, had been getting to know him the past few months, but were completely in the dark regarding the fact that he was about to become their stepfather.

At that thought, Amanda's sorrow took over again as she thought that he may not have a chance to be their stepfather, that the mystery marriage they'd planned on to keep her children safe, may never come to be, that all the sneaking around, all the lying they'd been doing, was all for nothing. They'd wasted so much time making up stories about how they spent their evenings, just to steal a few quiet moments together when they could have just had it all out in the open if they'd known this was how it was going to end. She hung her head and gave in to her grief, her body wracked with spasms at the force of her sobs, releasing her hold on the ring that no longer held the promise that it once did, not even noticing the light tinkling sound as it hit the hard floor.

Amanda was so lost in her melancholy, that she'd also failed to hear the door open until she felt a pair of strong arms wrapping themselves around her. She leaned into Lee's warm embrace as he knelt before her, linking her arms behind his neck burying her head in his strong shoulder as she cried out her heartbreak at their shattered dreams.

"Shhh," Lee said as he held her tightly brushing soft kisses against her face, and into her thick hair. "Amanda, don't. I can't stand to see you like this."

"I'm sorry," Amanda said in a raspy whisper. "I know you hate tears, but I can't help it. This is such a nightmare."

Lee pulled back to look her in the eyes, cupping he chin in his hand and said, "You listen to me, and listen good. I'm not dead yet and I want you to stop mourning me as if I am."

"But-"Amanda protested.

Lee shook his head and said, "No buts. We are going to fight this every step of the way, you hear me?" When Amanda just nodded, he bent to retrieve her fallen ring, reached for her hand, and slipped it on her finger just as he'd done three months earlier. "I made a promise to marry you, Amanda King, and come hell or high water I fully intend to be around to live up to that promise. Someday we're going to have our horses and our softball games in the backyard. What else was it you said, two cats and a front porch swing?"

Amanda couldn't help but laugh sand replied, "You know that I was just teasing you about that part, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Lee said with a smile, "But that doesn't sound half-bad. You and me on the porch swing when we're old and gray, surrounded by grandchildren. Just imagine the stories we could tell them."

"Yeah, we've been through a lot together," Amanda acknowledged with a wistful expression on her face.

"And this is just one more thing," Lee said. "We are gonna' get through this too and this Friday we are going to make it official once and for all, you and me, forever."

"You have a lot more faith than I do right now," Amanda said shakily.

"Like I once told you, this is no business for a pessimist," Lee said with a warm smile at her though inwardly he was just as worried. He couldn't bring himself to tell her that or that he'd already asked Billy to prepare for the worst, changing his life insurance information so that if he didn't make it, he'd at least be able to live up to his responsibility to her and her children. While he wasn't yet their stepfather, he'd long ago taken responsibility for the boys when he'd dragged their mother into his life, had fallen in love with them from a distance just as he'd fallen in love with their mother. He wasn't yet their stepfather but he knew that in making a commitment to Amanda, he was making a commitment to them as well.

"I remember," Amanda replied softly.

"Good. You keep remembering that, okay?" Lee said as he softly stroked her face then leaned in and kissed her tenderly. "We're going to have all the things we talked about." He paused for a moment and then added, "In fact, I was thinking that when all this is over, maybe we should rethink this whole mystery marriage thing."

"You think?"Amanda said hopefully as she's just been thinking of how awful it would be if he died with no one ever knowing how in love they were.

"I just keep thinking how things might have been different if we'd been together last night instead of leaving the restaurant separately. Then that got me to thinking about what happened to Khai's family that led us to deciding to keep our marriage a secret and the more I think about it, the more stupid I think it is. What if something did happen? What if you were under attack at the house, needing backup and I wasn't there or couldn't get there in time? I'd never be able to forgive myself if something happened to you or the kids because of me not being there for you. I just keep thinking that we've been thinking about this all backwards. Having us together, rather than separated would make our family safer, don't you think? I mean, isn't Billy always saying we're the best team he's got?

"Yeah, he is and you make a good point. I mean, I know our wedding plans are already made, but that doesn't mean that we couldn't still have our wedding and then just tell everybody about it when we come back from our honeymoon. I think this is something that we should talk about another time though. Right now, we need to focus on keeping you alive long enough to get to our wedding day," Amanda said her sorrowful expression now replaced by one of fierce determination.

"That's my girl," Lee said with an affectionate smile. He kissed her once more and said, "Let me tell you what we know so far." As he began to relay the conversation in Billy's office with Amanda listening intently, he couldn't help but feel more hopeful than he had when he'd left his boss' office, secure in the knowledge that he had a woman in his life who would always fight by his side no matter what life may throw their way. He couldn't wait to start living his life with her.


End file.
